Flight Safety Information - April 28, 2021 No. 086 In This Issue : Accident: Falcon B733 at Hargeisa and Sharjah on Apr 25th 2021, unknown object collided with horizontal stabilizer : Incident: United B789 over Pacific on Apr 16th 2021, mechanical problem : Incident: Jazz DH8D at Montreal on Apr 10th 2021, unsafe main gear : Incident: Rossiya A319 at St. Petersburg on Apr 25th 2021, bird strike : ANA installs world's first hands-free toilet doors on aircraft : FAA fines 3 boozed-up passengers for messing with flight attendants : LATAM Airlines continues to transport vaccines for free across South America : Chicago man arrested in Miami airport brawl over standby seats : United Airlines (UAL) to Add Over 480 Domestic Flights for June : Longer runway, daunting challenges ahead for Boeing CEO : Airlines are scrambling to catch up as travelers return to the skies. : China to launch Heavenly Harmony space station core module Accident: Falcon B733 at Hargeisa and Sharjah on Apr 25th 2021, unknown object collided with horizontal stabilizer An Air Falcon Boeing 737-300 freighter, registration AP-BNZ performing flight FPK-316 from Hargeisa (Somaliland/Somalia) to Sharjah (United Arab Emirates), departed Hargeisa's runway 24, climbed to FL350 enroute and landed on Sharjah's runway 30 about 4 hours after departure. A post flight inspection revealed an unknown object had collided with the aircraft's left horizontal stabilizer causing two holes in the leading edge of the left horizontal stabilizer and leaving dents and penetrations on the elevator as well as the vertical rudder. The aircraft is undergoing temporary repairs in Sharjah before positioning to its home base in Pakistan for final repair. The aircraft is still on the ground in Sharjah about 52 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=4e68c7c4&opt=0 Incident: United B789 over Pacific on Apr 16th 2021, mechanical problem A United Boeing 787-9, registration N24974 performing freight only flight UA-2781 from Guam (Guam) to Los Angeles,CA (USA) with 3 crew, was enroute at FL390 about 210nm westsouthwest of Midway Islands,UM (USA) when the crew decided to divert to Midway Atoll. The aircraft drifted down to about 17,000 feet and landed safely on Midway's Sand Island runway 06 about 35 minutes after leaving FL390. Locals report the aircraft arrived in night time during off duty hours, the airport was not staffed at all. The crew used the pilot controlled runway lighting to turn the runway lights up and landed, however, there was no response on the Island. Almost three hours later somebody showed up at the airport. The airline reported the aircraft carrying freight only diverted to Midway Atoll due to a mechanical problem. Locals further reported a faulty flight deck shoulder heater as well as the lower recirculation fan were deactivated under minimum equipment list requirements by a maintenance team flown to Midway Island, the aircraft subsequently flew to Honolulu and further to Los Angeles. The aircraft, that had originated in Singapore and had made an intermediate stop in Guam on its way to Los Angeles, remained on the ground at Sand Island for about 43 hours, then departed the island for Honolulu,HI (USA) and continued to Los Angeles after two hours on the ground in Honululu. https://avherald.com/h?article=4e68c4b0&opt=0 Incident: Jazz DH8D at Montreal on Apr 10th 2021, unsafe main gear A Jazz de Havilland Dash 8-400, registration C-GGOY performing flight QK-8701 from Qebec City,QC to Montreal,QC (Canada) with 34 passengers and 3 crew, was on final approach to Montreal's runway 06R when the crew received an unsafe gear indication for the left main gear after the gear had been selected down. The crew went around, declared PAN PAN, worked the related checklists, the unsafe indication however remained. The crew finally landed on runway 06R without further incident and stopped on the runway. The gear was secured before the aircraft was towed to the apron. https://avherald.com/h?article=4e680101&opt=0 Incident: Rossiya A319 at St. Petersburg on Apr 25th 2021, bird strike A Rossiya Airbus A319-100, registration VQ-BAS performing flight FV-6568 from Sochi to St. Petersburg (Russia) with 104 passengers and 5 crew, was on final approach to St. Petersburg's runway 28L descending through about 20 feet when the left hand engine (CFM56) ingested a bird. The aircraft touched down and rolled out without further incident. Rosaviatsia reported two fan blades were damaged. A runway inspection as well as inspection of the taxi route did not find any bird or engine debris. The aircraft was removed from service. The aircraft is still on the ground about 40 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=4e67fd31&opt=0 ANA installs world's first hands-free toilet doors on aircraft All Nippon Airways (ANA) will install the world’s first hands-free toilet doors on its aircraft to minimise physical contact onboard and “limit the potential spread of pathogens”. The Japanese carrier partnered with aircraft interior supplier Jamco Corporation last year to develop the innovative door, carrying out trials of the product at the airline’s lounge at Tokyo Haneda airport last September. The hands-free door is equipped with a large inner door locking knob and an additional handle so that passengers can use their elbows to unlock it. Signage has been placed near the toilet cubicle to provide operational instructions for passengers who are unfamiliar with the door mechanism. The doors will be introduced on domestic flights from May 1, with the airline planning to serve all domestic and international aircraft in the future. The product will be installed on a total of 21 aircraft, divided across 11 B787-8 aircraft, two B787-9 aircraft and eight B777-200 aircraft. Shinichi Inoue, Senior Executive Vice President, Customer Experience Management and Planning, commented: “Guided by the principles of ANA Care Promise, we have continued to invest in the development and implementation of innovative technologies because the health and safety of passengers and our staff is the top priority. “The hands-free lavatory door is the latest example of us putting this principle into practice as we look for ways to make the travel experience safer and more convenient.” The initiative is part of the airline’s ANA Care Promise pledge, a set of cleanliness standards. ana.co.jp https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2021/04/28/ana-installs-worlds-first-hands-free-toilet-doors-on-aircraft/ LATAM Airlines continues to transport vaccines for free across South America LATAM Airlines Group will continue to transport vaccines free of cost within the countries where it operates throughout 2021 through its Solidarity Plane programme. To date, the group has transported over 23.7 million vaccines against Covid-19 within South America, through more than 300 flights in the domestic markets of Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru. More than 50 towns have benefited from the doses, including those located in difficult access points including Easter Island in Chile, Galapagos in Ecuador, Iquitos in Peru. In Brazil, doses have been moved to all states, as a result of the country’s current health crisis. After the arrival of the first shipments of vaccines to the region in December 2020, LATAM made the free transport of doses available to the authorities of the governments of the countries where it has domestic operations. Since the beginning of the pandemic to date, Solidarity Plane has transported more than 480 tonnes of medical supplies, benefiting Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. At the same time, more than 1.400 organs and tissues were mobilized within South America and the transfer of stem cells was carried out for ten people with blood cancer, who were able to receive a second chance at life. In passenger transport, more than 1300 health professionals were able to travel to meet different needs related to Covid-19 in the countries that LATAM operates with domestic flights. Through LATAM Cargo, the group has transported over 48 million vaccines to South America and within the countries in which it operates. LATAM Cargo is the first airline in the American continent, and the only one in the region, to obtain the CEIV Pharma (IATA) certification. This voluntary certificate internationally certifies that facilities, equipment, operations and personnel meet all applicable standards, regulations and guidelines expected by pharmaceutical manufacturers. https://www.stattimes.com/news/latam-airlines-continues-to-transport-vaccines-for-free-across-south-america-air-cargo/ FAA fines 3 boozed-up passengers for messing with flight attendants The largest fine was $31,750 for a passenger who made a disruption and grabbed two flight attendants Airlines cutting alcohol, McDonald's keeping salads off menus amid COVID-19 'The Greg Gutfeld Show' reacts to the latest ways businesses are trying to combat the pandemic. The Federal Aviation Administration is fed up with passengers causing a scene mid-flight, as the agency announced fines for three people who drank too much alcohol they brought on board and caused disturbances in the last few months. Two of the passengers were on a jetBlue Airlines from Haiti to Boston on Jan. 4. One of the passengers, who was fined $31,750, allegedly drank his own alcohol, yelled and waved his hands at flight attendants after other passengers took issue with his disruptive behavior, and grabbed the arms of two different flight attendants during the trip. Another passenger on that same flight, who was fined $16,750, allegedly drank his own alcohol, then "yelled, shouted obscenities, and made motions to strike a flight attendant when they arrived at his seat in response to a complaint from another passenger." The last disruptive flier was on a route from Yuma, Ariz., to Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. The FAA says the passenger drank multiple 50 ml bottles of alcohol that he brought on the plane, then tried to touch a passenger sitting behind him and was combative with others. Two off-duty law enforcement officers had to wrestle him back into his seat and sit behind him to get him to simmer down. Disruptive passengers are subject to civil penalties for misconduct on flights, which includes fines of up to $35,000. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The FAA announced a new "zero-tolerance" policy in January for unruly behavior amid a spate of disturbances over airlines' mask policies. That zero-tolerance policy was supposed to expire in March, but FAA Administrator Steve Dickson extended it until the CDC's transportation mask policy goes away. https://www.foxnews.com/us/faa-fines-boozed-up-passengers-drinking-too-much-messing-flight-attendants Chicago man arrested in Miami airport brawl over standby seats Police say seven people were involved in a brawl at Miami International Airport. They were apparently fighting over standby seats. CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago man has been charged after he was allegedly involved in a brawl at Miami International Airport. Police said 20-year-old Jameel Decquir was part of a fist fight that broke out between seven people in the American Airlines terminal Sunday afternoon. In the video, other passengers and people in the terminal area can be heard calling for security and pleading for the fighting to stop. They were apparently all fighting over three standby seats on a flight to Chicago. A witness said that airport police showed up and stayed for over an hour. Decquir is facing one disorderly conduct charge. https://www.miamitodaynews.com/2021/04/27/miami-international-airport-gives-63-tenants-another-break/ United Airlines (UAL) to Add Over 480 Domestic Flights for June United Airlines Holdings UAL is boosting its domestic schedule for June as leisure air-travel demand continues to improve with more Americans getting vaccinated. The airline will operate 67% of its domestic schedule and 60% of its overall network compared with the June 2019 levels to meet the anticipated increase in summer travel demand. This includes adding more than 480 daily flights to its U.S. schedule to offer an average of more than 3,100 daily domestic flights to over 240 U.S. destinations. As part of the network expansion, United Airlines will operate more than 40 flights to the Hawaiian Islands on the peak days of June. Some of the services include flights to Kona from Chicago, IL, and Maui from New York/Newark. Additionally, the airline will operate up to 12 daily/69 weekly flights to Alaska from its hubs at Chicago; Denver, CO; Houston, TX; New York/Newark and San Francisco, CA. Further, the carrier will operate more than 500 daily flights to 66 national park destinations this June. United Airlines has been making consistent efforts to capitalize on the improving travel demand. Last month, the carrier announced a significantly expanded May schedule. The airline will resume more than 20 domestic services and operate more than 100% of its 2019 schedule to Latin America. The carrier expects its overall schedule to be 52% in May 2021 compared with the 2019 levels. Zacks Rank & Key Picks United Airlines carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Transportation sector are Navios Maritime Partners NMM, Landstar System LSTR and Covenant Logistics Group CVLG, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Shares of Navios Maritime Partners, Landstar System and Covenant Logistics have rallied more than 300%, 58% and 100% in a year’s time respectively. Zacks' Top Picks to Cash in on Artificial Intelligence In 2021, this world-changing technology is projected to generate $327.5 billion in revenue. Now Shark Tank star and billionaire investor Mark Cuban says AI will create "the world's first trillionaires." Zacks' urgent special report reveals 3 AI picks investors need to know about today. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/united-airlines-ual-add-over-123012052.html Longer runway, daunting challenges ahead for Boeing CEO (Reuters) - Boeing Co's newly prolonged CEO Dave Calhoun will unveil the U.S. planemaker's results on Wednesday juggling a barrage of technical and financial challenges under the shadow of mounting political tensions between the United States and China. Analysts will be pressing Calhoun for updates on the effective re-grounding of part of the 737 MAX fleet over electrical grounding flaws, just as the U.S. travel market is finally rebounding from the coronavirus pandemic. The grounding issue is expected to drag on longer than Boeing initially indicated, people familiar with the matter say. Boeing is also facing certification challenges on its forthcoming 777X mini-jumbo, and forensic inspections and painstaking repairs to fix defects embedded in dozens of its advanced carbon-composite 787, which halted deliveries from October until last month. One of Boeing's biggest suppliers, engine maker General Electric, said on Tuesday aviation remained "challenged" and beset by volatility, driving its stock down as much as 4.8%. "Boeing has traded on expectations for vaccine distribution and air traffic recovery, both of which are coming through," Cowen analyst Cai von Rumohr wrote in a note earlier this month. "But there's risk of further 787 disruption if international traffic recovery lags, and the pace of the 737 ramp is unclear." On the plus side, it completed a hot-fire engine test on NASA's forthcoming SLS rocket and started production on the U.S. Air Force's new trainer jet. Boeing declined to comment ahead of results, which will be reported before the market opens on Wednesday. Boeing is expected to report a smaller first-quarter adjusted loss of $1.16 per share, compared with $1.70 per share a year earlier, helped by an improvement in aircraft deliveries as airline customers add flight capacity, anticipating a rebound in summer travel. Optimism in a resurgent U.S. domestic travel market is offset by growing concerns over COVID variants in India and elsewhere, clouding the general industry's recovery. Boeing's flagship single-aisle 737 MAX, the workhorse of the short-haul travel leading the recovery, remains grounded in the rebounding China market, too. Boeing, which sold a quarter of the planes it built annually to China buyers before the 737 MAX grounding, also faces uncertainty over simmering geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing, which have continued under U.S. President Joe Biden. Last week, Boeing said it extended its required retirement age of 65 to 70 to allow Calhoun, 64, to stay in the top job. Calhoun aims to stay in the role until he is 70, insiders say. His decision surprised many in the industry who saw him as a shorter-term crisis manager, and it also triggered the upcoming exit of Boeing's well-regarded CFO and heir-apparent for the job, Greg Smith, 54. As it navigates these challenges and others, Boeing has slowed down its study of a potential new plane to counter the threat of Airbus' A321, which is snapping up orders in a lucrative slice of the travel market. Highlighting Boeing's concerns over market share in one of the most important battlegrounds for the next generation of jetliners, Delta Air Lines placed a firm order for 25 A321neo aircraft last week. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/longer-runway-daunting-challenges-ahead-195736569.html Airlines are scrambling to catch up as travelers return to the skies. Why it matters: Passengers are finding fuller planes, busier airports — and, in some cases, surprise changes to their itineraries — as airlines try to add flights and rework their schedules. The big picture: Cranking up a complex flight network is like putting a puzzle back together after it suddenly fell on the floor. It can be messy, and it takes time. What's happening: Delta Air Lines, for example, is notifying customers of changes to existing flights — sometimes adding layovers or even modifying dates of travel. Apologetic emails offer to rebook or cancel trips for a credit if the new itineraries are unsatisfactory, but wading through that process can take hours. How it works: Putting grounded aircraft back into service can require many hours of maintenance. And laid-off flight crews must undergo retraining and recertification before they can fly again. Increased vaccinations are helping to unleash pent-up demand after a year of staying home. Many Americans have banked a whole lot of frequent flier miles over the past year, notes Brian Kelly, founder and CEO of The Points Guy, a consumer travel website. Many also have vouchers from cancelled 2020 trips that are going to expire soon, Kelly said. What to watch: Fares are up from last year's deep discounts, but are still significantly cheaper than they were before the pandemic, according to Airlines for America, a trade organization. Business travel remains practically non-existent, but some leisure passengers are splurging — or using banked miles — to upgrade to first class. Airlines have gotten more flexible with change fees and refunds for canceled flights since the beginning of the pandemic. But, Kelly warns, "It's like Whack-A-Mole. One fee goes away but another fee comes along." Travel to more of Europe could open up soon, after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signaled last weekend that vaccinated Americans will be allowed to travel to the continent this summer. https://www.yahoo.com/news/airlines-add-layovers-change-travel-093026507.html China to launch Heavenly Harmony space station core module BEIJING (AP) — China plans to launch the core module for its first permanent space station this week in the latest big step forward for the country’s space exploration program. The Tianhe, or “Heavenly Harmony” module is set to be hurtled into space aboard a Long March 5B rocket from the Wenchang Launch Center on the southern island of Hainan. The launch could come as early as Thursday night if all goes as planned. It would be the first of 11 missions to build and supply the space station for a three-person crew. Here's a look at the planned launch and the past and future of China's space program. 11 MISSIONS PLANNED TO COMPLETE SPACE STATION BY END OF 2022 Another 10 launches will send up two more modules; four cargo supply shipments and four missions with crews. At least 12 astronauts are training to fly to and live in the station, including veterans of previous flights, newcomers and women. When completed by late 2022, Tianhe is expected to weigh about 66 tons, a fraction the size of the International Space Station, which launched its first module in 1998 and will weigh about 450 tons when completed. Tianhe will have a docking port and will also be able to connect with a powerful Chinese space satellite. Theoretically, it could be expanded with more modules. Tianhe's main module will initially be about the size of the American Skylab space station of the 1970s and the former Soviet/Russian Mir, which operated for more than 14 years after launching in 1986. SPACE STATION A LONG-TERM GOAL China has launched two experimental modules over the past decade in preparation for a permanent station. One, Tiangong-1, which means “Heavenly Palace-1" was abandoned and burned up during an uncontrolled loss of orbit. Its successor, Tiangong-2, was successfully taken out of orbit in 2018. China began preparations for a space station in the early 1990s as its space program gained momentum. It was excluded from the ISS largely due to U.S. objections over the Chinese program’s secretive nature and close military ties. SPEEDY PROGRESS IN SPACE After years of successful rocket and commercial satellite launches, China put its first astronaut into space in October 2003. It was only the third country to independently do so after the former Soviet Union and the United States. Since that Shenzhou 5 mission, China has sent other astronauts into orbit, placed crews on the original Tiangong station and conducted a space walk. It also has increased cooperation with space experts from other countries, including France, Sweden, Russia and Italy. NASA must get permission from a reluctant Congress to engage in such contacts. China also has pushed ahead with crewless missions, particularly in lunar exploration and has landed a rover on the little-explored far side of the Moon. In December, its Chang’e 5 probe returned lunar rocks to Earth for the first time since the U.S. missions of the 1970s. MARS ROVER AND FUTURE AMBITIONS The Tianhe mission comes just weeks before a Chinese probe is due to land on Mars, making China the third country to accomplish that after the former Soviet Union and the U.S. The Tianwen-1 space probe has been orbiting the red planet since February while collecting data. Its Zhurong rover will be looking for evidence of life. Another Chinese program aims to collect soil from an asteroid, a key focus of Japan's space program. China plans another mission in 2024 to bring back lunar samples and has said it wants to land people on the moon and possibly build a scientific base there. No timeline has been proposed for such projects. A highly secretive space plane is also reportedly under development. HOW COMPETITIVE IS CHINA'S PROGRAM? China's program has advanced in a steady, cautious manner on a carefully designed schedule, largely avoiding the failures seen in the U.S. and Russian efforts when they were locked in intense competition during the heady early days of spaceflight. One recent setback came when a Long March 5 rocket failed in 2017 during development of the Long March 5B variant that will be used to put the Tianhe module into orbit, but engineers moved swiftly to fix the problem. Critics say China's space program has successfully reproduced the achievements of the U.S. and Russia without breaking much new ground. The country's rising technological prowess may end such talk in coming years. The country may need greater private sector involvement to spur innovation, as the U.S. has done with SpaceX and Blue Origin, and to apply new technologies such as reusable rockets. https://www.yahoo.com/news/astronauts-arrive-space-station-aboard-102026763.html Curt Lewis